The All-Fandom Realm

The three of them ran out of the strange initiation building, following the orange-haired boy and his oversized inkbrush. He finally stopped after one and-a-half blocks, when his brush ran out of orange ink.

"Aw, bummer!" he blurted. Then he turned himself into a large, orange squid and jumped into the orange trail he left in the pavement, disappearing into it as if it were actually a lot deeper than it looked. All around them, though, the city's denizens continued passing by the two of them, hardly giving them a sidelong glance. After a few seconds, the boy, Angler, stood back up in his humanoid shape.

"Okay! That was fun!" he declared. "So... does anyone remember what we were doing?"

Seren tried to follow Angler the best they could. Despite the buildings having some similarity to trees in terms of being obstacles, there were plenty of key differences. The pedestrian traffic being a major one. Luckily, Angler wasn't exactly subtle.

Once Angler disappeared, Seren waited for him to emerge, replying to his question by miming the act of taking a large bite out of something that they pretended was in their upper hands. Their large eyes fixated on Angler eagerly in expectation.

"Right! Food! I remember now!" He turned the corner and continued running another twenty feet before screeching to a halt. He stared at a large sign on top of a large glass window. The sign featured a large, deep-fried shrimp coated in crispy breading.

"Tempura," he said, the word probably having no real meaning to Seren. He rushed to the glass double door to the restaurant, and its air-conditioned atmosphere swept over him. "Hello, tempura!"

He rushed to the counter and slapped a pile of gold-looking coins onto the table, reaching up high due to his shortness. "How much shrimp tempura can I get with this!?"

The server turned around and looked down at him. As it turned out, this guy was a large, half-man, half-sea anemone before looking down at the money on the table.

Seren followed after Angler more tentatively, feeling a little cramped in the restaurant interior. Was this what it was like in the communal structures of the tribes of their homeland? Some of those tribes were fairly technologically advanced; but the technology was different. More energy, less mechanical components. Not counting basic levers and gears of course - they were prominent practically everywhere. Glass was much less common, and stonework was more traditional. And generally it was fairly obvious where any air-cooling was coming from - Seren could not fathom how it was working in this place.

Where Angler had to reach up to use the counter, Seren found themselves staring right at it, being unable to see what was going on up there from their own height. Which was frustrating, of course.

As frustration mounted up, Seren eventually leapt up and grabbed the ledge with their upper hands, hauling themselves up and resting their forearms there for balance. Their lower hands gripped the edge of the counter just in case, whilst their hooves scrabbled at the side to find a comfortable and supportive location to rest at.

Ears flattened back in cautious curiosity, the spirit sniffed at the air, and glanced around.

Billie had found herself lagging behind unintentionally, the sight of the pristine city still somehow captivating, despite her anxieties. This would be her new home now... Seemingly. It was still a lot to take in, and it would presumably be a while before she fully settled down. As her eyes wandered, she'd ended up then stepping into a puddle of ink, the noise of doing so finally catching her attention. Well.

It was.. Certainly a substance. At least it isn't immediately poisonous, or burned, just sticky- It was orange, too. Was this the ink Angler happened to mention? She took it as a sign that they were at hopefully nearby, following the trail as she stepped in a way to avoid making tracks, then carefully looking around and once the trail ended, checking twists and turns, just in case.
Thankfully, this seemed to work in her favor, and as she opened the doors and finally has caught up, thankfully. If she was later, that might've been a much longer search.

"Ah.. Hi again. Did you find one of these restaurant places??" It seemed like one, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask, though.. Maybe she should ask if they should exchange anything to get the food here, if this place worked like home.

The... crustacean behind the counter shook the nearest approximation it had to a head. "I'm sorry, little dude, but this currency is worthless here."

Angler's jaw dropped. "What!? After all the trouble we went through to get here!? Come on! Have a heart! We're obviously new here and starving!"

"There's a pawn shop nearby," said the crustacean. "Maybe some of this stuff's worth somethin' there. Just head left out the door for two block—"

With that Angler grabbed Seren by the torso and Billy by the wrist and bolted out the door.

((Riik! Describe the pawn shop with stuff Seren would recognize!))

Seren was busy trying to work out how this location worked - and what all the scents were - as they were plucked up and carried(?) out by Angler, becoming a whirlwind of arms for a moment from the surprise. If this was a place for food... why did it smell so... off? What manner of things were they cooking there?

Seren caught sight of Billie on the way out, surprised to see that she had come along. But before they even registered much about the situation, they were already entering a new building.

Being not too far off the high street, the pawn shop was fairly modern-looking - at least by the standards of the city, which to beings like Seren was very much futuristic in appearance. It was somewhere half way between tidy and cluttered. Somehow managing to fit both supermarket order and family-own store clutter in its collection of contents.

Many of the items present were entirely unfathomable for the spirit, but some of them immediately caught their eye. Stone statuettes... crude paintings... a tribal mask... a ceremonial carved staff... a formation of glowing blue crystals... and a collection of stone blocks with channels carved into them that looked designed for something to fill them. Among other similar items of course. The latter example was something Seren was used to seeing lit up with energy. Power conduits for energy-based technology, no doubt.

Billie barely got an idea of what was happening before being almost dragged out the door, having to quickly reacquire her footing before her face met the pavement. She's not going to get used to that.

Due to her focus on not tripping, it felt near-instant when they all finally get to the pawn shop. It looked rather unassuming at first, which is why what was inside initially threw her off. The lack of cohesion between what was there was a tad alienating, but regardless the Zangoose looked around. It definitely seemed like a shop front, and given the range of items... Was it also a collector's room? Otherwise why would so many random items be all about the place? It wasn't a shop she was used to, at the very least.

"Er... Might I ask why we're here? Was the other place not a restaurant place?" The Zangoose's body language got a bit more obviously guarded from the strange aura of this building.

Angler ignored all of the strange items all around them, fully oblivious to the wondrous items around him. He simply marched up to the front counter and slapped his oversized coins on the table.

"Yo! How much you offering me for this!? And don't try to cheat me!"

There was a swiveling seat behind the counter. Upon hearing Angler's direct assault, whoever sat in the seat began to turn it. Anger's brash irritation gave way to timidity as the figure in the seat revealed more and more of its large, furry bulk. This being towered over all present and was covered head to foot in a thick, dark fur with thinner white fur only around the face, giving it the appearance of a mask. It looked down at the Inkling with dark eyes whose expressions were difficult for the poor, nervous boy to read.

"Um... pretty please?" Angler uttered.

Seren's enthusiasm for the familiarity from some of the relics allowed them to wriggle free of Angler and make their way over to a handful of items that they recognised the function of. As Angler approached the counter, Seren held the items up to show Billy. One was a large block of stone that Seren was struggling to hold up with their lower hands. It had a circular shape inlaid in it, as well was a small slot in one side and a recess on top. Held in Seren's upper hands were a pair of strange objects that when fitted together looked like some sort of ceremonial tablet; and a perfectly spherical blue gemstone.

Seren carefully slotted the pieces of tablet together, leaving a space for the gem to fit. When they placed the gem in the space, it began to glow. Seren placed the assembled piece into the recess on the block and held it out to show Billie with the circular shape facing her. A blue trail of energy extended down a channel in the stone's surface, surrounding the circle and continuing on until the channel reached its end. The circle then began to spin until it had completed a quarter turn, and a small stone rod extended from the slot in the side. The device seemed to look like some sort of yet-to-be-fitted lock for a door or a gate.

Seren then dissembled the device and put it back, only then finally noticing the shopkeeper.

Seren had heard of these creatures before, though not seen one in person. They came from another region of their world. A place called Nibel, or so they had heard. These were creatures of darkness - but were revered as gentle folk. Still, seeing one up close was still somewhat intimidating. Ears lowered down in timid pacifism, Seren hopped up onto the counter in a single leap, eager to meet another from their own world. They knew creatures of darkness were often suspicious of beings of light; and depending on their disposition that often meant either frightened of or hostile toward the forest spirits that embodied it. Seren hoped that in this case, familiarity trumped mistrust.

Billie watched carefully before noticing and gazing how Seren was behaving, watching this device. She could only assume what was demonstrated was some kind of mechanism for something, only to come to a conclusion that it was likely a lock once they were done. It was strange, the door itself seemed to be of pure stone, yet was able to behave like this.. It was weird, though she was still intrigued by it. Since they knew how this seemed to work, could more of the items here familiar to the folk as well? She stepped foward a bit while Seren was showing how the door worked, though was unsure if she should get close to the door.

Only once Seren was done did she set her attention back to the desk did she notice some of what was happening. Feeling the intensity in the air, she approached finally, trying to appear calm and collected. "... Any trouble?"
Here's hoping something doesn't go terribly wrong.

The large furry teller looked up and down at the little spirit of light, it's expression not shifting. The next sound the others heard from it came across as almost a hard grunt, but it was unmistakably speech.

"What is it doing here?" it seemed to have asked.

"He's my friend!" Angler spoke up, probably using an incorrect pronoun. "Please. We're new here and we got, like, no cash for this place. All's I got is this stuff from my home world. Please?"

The large creature looked back down at Angler, then his coins. It picked one up and turned it around in its fingers. He then set it on something resembling a balancing scale, then stared at it in silence.

One isle over from Billie's position, she might notice something she would find familiar as well. She would see some manner of Pokéball, one with a blotchy green pattern that almost looked to be camouflage on its top half. Next to it were a series of stones of varying colors: one red, one blue, one green with something resembling a lightning bolt in it, and still others among them.

Seren stared at the large being. Despite the mistrust beings of darkness typically showed toward those of light - and perhaps vice versa in other cases; though forest spirits typically tended to be more receptive to forming friendships than other species - Seren was only filled with a desire for an amenable relationship; whether solely limited to a single encounter or not.

With somewhat of a disregard to the things sitting atop it, Seren stepped across the counter to close in on the individual on the other end and held out a hand in greeting, the three digits held open in a display much akin to a handshake request; though such gestures were not typical of forest spirits - at least those who were born of Seren's tree. It was a more general display of a desire for friendship. At the most, Seren expected some degree of contact of hands. At the least, they hoped for acknowledgement, whether verbal or through gesture.

The Zangoose's eyes briefly drifted for a moment, recognizing what seem to be... Those pokeball things and the evolution stones. This was exciting to her, as she briefly focused on just the items to get a look, and maybe touch the evolution stones. The pokeballs, however, were probably not smart to touch, as she just observed them briefly.

Her wandering thoughts quickly stopped as she snapped back into reality, turning around with a Thunderstone in hand as she processed the previous exchange. "Er. Is there a problem with this folk, here?" She was trying to maintain an appearance of calmness, but she already didn't like the aggressiveness of the shop owner. She unwillingly tensed up as if to prepare for a fight, despite her rationalizing that likely wasn't going to happen.

The shopkeeper watched Seren carefully as they attempted their gesture. It then waved its hand to shoo Seren off of the counter.

"Break nothing," was It's only response to the attempt at friendship. It returned its attention to the scales, then fished around for something under the counter. A moment later it produced a number of colorful paper notes, something resembling money if Angler was right. It counted off a number of them and put them on the counter in front of the boy.

"Umm, h-how much is that?" He pulled up his Wrist Wicky and asked it again. It then produced a small hologram that showed the relative prices of meals in the area as compared to the amount before them. When he saw how they compared, Angler's nervousness gave way to irritation.

"Hey! You tryin' to cheat me or something!?" he blurted. "I could by a bunch of tempura with all this dosh!" That word didn't seem to translate well, even with the Wickies. "This stuff is worth at least twice what you're offering me, and I'm still losing money on the deal!"

The beastly being stared at the boy, then dropped a single additional bill onto the small stack.

"That's it!? Ya giant fuzzy cheapskate! Do you have any idea why we've been through just to get here!?"

The shop clerk's fur stood up, making it swell in size before it slapped its hand onto the counter, rattling everything on it with a loud thud. If he wasn't threatening before, he was now. Angler was startled for a moment, but now he seemed ready to escalate with it, standing his ground.

Well if this was indeed of the species from the rumours Seren heard, this individual certainly did not fit the gentle stereotype given to them. But then of course, why would they? No two people were the same. That said, Seren couldn't help but wonder if their presence was causing this trade imbalance. Mistrust and perhaps... fear... might have been involved.

Still... Seren did not want to start any fights. Their protective instincts favoured Angler of course, but at the same time, it seemed like it would be easier to work things out from a more defensive angle.

Seren stepped over to Angler and gently held their upper hands up near his shoulders, not touching him, but certainly gesturing to him in the most calm and gentle way to stand down. They turned to face the shopkeeper with an exasperated expression in their eyes. A desire to be of no trouble. But there was also a fire behind the look that suggest that should anything happen to Angler, there would be hell to pay. And most certainly, they did not like seeing Angler cheated.

During most of the time in the store, the shielding from sunlight combined with their relatively calm state made their glow very subtle, like a gentle aura that only seemed to make their fur ever so slightly too white and gave it the slightest of slight violet highlights. Now, the light seeped out of them in a visible glow - still gentle and soft, but definitely there. There was nothing hostile about the way it shone from them. But there was a distinct readiness. An energy waiting to be utilised.

... Oh Arceus, she can just smell the incoming fight. Even if it's not ideal, she's gotta do something to deescalate, especially since a fight would just make some enemies. She wasn't the happiest with how Angler had handled the situation so far, but it was understandable, to an extent. Unfortunately, this kind of the behavior was also easily the type to paint a target on your back without any help.

Putting down the stone she had, she hurriedly got herself to the desk, though preventing herself from getting atop the desk as well, now to try to make some form of compromise. No pressure in the slightest.

"Was there a reason for the low price of this thing? Shiny stuff I thought is worth more, so there must be a reason if you want to say it." She does her best to have her voice maintain a tone that implied she was genuinely wondering, even if she's just asking this to get on the giant folk's good side. She also tried to maintain some visible friendliness in the form of eye contact and having one of her paws hold onto her other arm.

"Not money here," the beast grunted. "Just shiny. You have for sale? Show or leave."

Angler huffed and folded his arms. "Not money he says. If this is all you've got, I might just take my business elsewhere!"

Not that he or any of the others knew that there were any other shops like this nearby. They were still completely new after all.

Was this how things worked here...? Seren had seen coins exchanged before, but never to the extent that their value was questioned. Was the coin not worth the material it was made of? That was how it worked in most of the tribes Seren knew that used currency. At least they thought as much. They didn't really look into those sorts of things.

At present though, the spirit did not have anything else to add. They were too focused on preventing a fight, or protecting Angler if one was to break out.

"Ah..." Should she add something, then?? She couldn't contribute anything, unless.... Could she, though? Should she? Is there even another option? Hunger is starting to get to her...

A brief silence before she started untying the Silk Scarf around her neck. "How much for this?" She put it on the counter, hoping it wasn't too dirty from use. "You get stronger wearing it."

She could just come back later for this, right?